歪歪漫画

NEBISH 鈥� The fifth Mistic reunion was so large that a drone was deployed to take a family photo.

Nearly 600 descendants of Nebish settlers Vinko and Philipina Mistic gathered July 22-23 at the nearby Northern Escape Venue to celebrate and continue a tradition that started in 1981.

鈥淲hat a spectacular two days,鈥� said Rosemarie (Mistic) Weber, granddaughter of Vinko and Philipina. 鈥淚t was absolutely fantastic. Our oldest person was 93.鈥�

Great-granddaughter Rosemary Gustafson, who chaired this year鈥檚 reunion, said because of the internet and social media, the family was able to expand its reach, resulting in 586 registrants and growing from previous gatherings in 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011. The 2021 reunion was postponed to this year because of Covid.

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鈥淲e had people come in from all over the United States,鈥� Rosemary said. 鈥淲hat was exciting for me at this reunion was that in the 2011 reunion one of the family branches we didn鈥檛 have anybody in attendance from. We had kind of lost touch, nobody knew how to get a hold of them. That was sad because we always wear different colored T-shirts and take a group photo. We didn鈥檛 have anyone from Aunt Fanny鈥檚 family.鈥�

But that changed after a Mistic reunion Facebook page was created.

鈥淲e were able to get in touch with people from all branches of the family,鈥� Rosemary said. 鈥淪o we made a lot of new connections. We had people fly in from California who had never met any of the family. They had also lost connection.鈥�

She also was surprised to communicate with family members in Croatia, where Vinko and Philipina started their family before moving to the United States. Daughters, Fanny and Dolly, were born in Croatia. Vinko moved to America in 1898, first settling in Illinois. Philipina and the young girls joined him the next year. Five more children were born in the U.S. 鈥� James, Peter, Margaret, Frank and Thomas. The family moved to the town of Nebish in 1920, around 22 miles north of Bemidji.

鈥淔amily members in Croatia were able to give us additional family history,鈥� Rosemary said. 鈥淲hen the family immigrated from Croatia, one of Vinko鈥檚 brothers was going to Brazil and he was shipwrecked. Everybody assumed he had been lost at sea. But we just discovered through the process of this that he was not lost at sea. He actually survived the wreck. So we were able to investigate that portion of the family tree and realized there are more.鈥�

The next reunion might even include some of those relatives from Croatia.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 just exciting for me,鈥� Rosemary said. 鈥淭o me, the new connections into our history are just invaluable.鈥�

Mistic reunions always begin with a Mass led by Father Joseph John Kennady, the current priest at St. John鈥檚 Catholic Church in Nebish.

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鈥淭he Mistic family was integral to starting the Catholic church in Nebish,鈥� Rosemary said.

鈥淚 think our religion held us together,鈥� added Rosemarie Weber. 鈥淕randpa and Grandma Mistic brought the Catholic church to Neblish when there was no church. A traveling priest would come to their home and say Mass. That faith was passed down through the generations, and that faith is what has held everybody together.鈥�

The remainder of the weekend was filled with games, meals, music by Gary Yerbich and the Empty Cooler Band, and lots of reminiscing. The food included janje na ra啪nju (Croatian for lamb on a spit), a hog roast and povitica, a traditional Croatian delicacy.

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And of course, that group photo. Fortunately, Brett Mistic owns a drone business, so he was able to get a shot of everyone looking skyward. The photo resembles a rainbow with family members wearing different colored shirts for each of the seven branches. In addition to descendants of all seven offspring of Vinko and Philipina, members of Vinko鈥檚 brother George were in attendance.

鈥淭here are over 1,100 descendants from Vinko and Philipina with more on the way,鈥� Rosemary said.

She added, 鈥淔or me, the highlight was when I finally got a chance to leave the building after we got the first meal out of the way. I walked outside and (noticed) there鈥檚 happy people everywhere. Everybody鈥檚 happy and they鈥檙e all over the place, all visiting. The different factions are blending; they鈥檙e not all just huddled in their little groups.鈥�

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And when it was over, the Mistic descendants can reflect on a tradition that continued for a fifth time.

鈥淲e are all so proud that this family has hung together like this,鈥� Rosemarie said, 鈥渁nd I think it should be shared with the world.鈥�